DraftKings Live App Review: A must for any fantasy football player

Need another app to keep track of all the cash you’re winning on DraftKings? Or losing?

There are plenty of choices out there to keep track of real time NFL stats. Still, DraftKings Live (DK Live) is worth a look if you play on DK’s platform regularly.

What is it?

Simply an app to track all the DK points being scored live as the games are played.

Only available on iPhones at the moment.

Features

So, I used DK Live during all the NFL games on Sunday. I was working part of the time, so much of what I knew about the early games came from the app. I would catch up with highlights later. The good news was I could really know what was going on.

Not only in the fantasy-verse. But in the actual games.

It was nice to keep up with the scores as well as the loose change I was racking up in my head-to-head contests. Won 12 of 12 BTW.

If a game was getting close and nearing the end, I could head to the living room to see the end.

Keeping track of real games is nice, but most people will, of course, use the DK Live app while lounging on the couch in front of the TV. So let me dig into just how cool the app is for watching your fantasy progress.

What you can learn with DK Live

The app is cool and well designed. Super simple to use and understand. DFSers know that DK is all about user experience so this was no shocker.

What was a little surprising, even to a veteran (degenerate) DFS player like myself, was how the live visuals helped me understand the game.

I know the scoring system on DraftKings. I have a copy on the headboard of my bed, on my bathroom mirror, and tattooed on my foot. Yet, seeing the scores pile up as they happen was a real eye-opener.

You can see from the screenshot the impact of a touchdown. This view shows “Big Plays.” Andy Dalton got 4.04 points for a 1-yard TD throw. The receiver, Tyler Boyd got 7.10. So it clearly shows how powerful stacks are in DFS. Instead of just having a QB get 4 points, you gain 11 points by rostering his receiver.

And it’s easy to forget the tiny points after the decimal, even on touchdowns. The 1-yard distance only added a little to the TD tally, but those tenths make the difference in winning and losing on DraftKings.

Notice how the Buffalo defense just lost 3 points on the Bengals touchdown too. Common sense tells you not to draft a defense that will be facing your skill players. Yet many DFS newbies have no common sense. If they use this app, the visuals make it clear how scores impact the defense as well.

Views

You can choose to track your games in several different views.

Every damn play.

Touchdowns only.

Big Plays only.

Redzone plays only.

I would say the red zone plays are best for fantasy tracking. To know what’s going on in more detail, I would set it to big plays. Those would include some pivotal plays that may not be major in fantasyland, but matter in real world action.

News

DK Live lets you track news during the games too. Bad news is, it’s mostly bad. If you see a player pop up during the games, it likely means he is injured.

For those of you who had A.J. Green this past week, you know what I’m talking about. I feel for you. And A.J. too, since he is the one who was hurt the most by his injury, despite fantasy owners acting like their hamstring just ripped apart on their recliner.

Filter

If you are only concerned about tracking players you drafted, of course, you can check that periodically on a separate tab. Even with multiple lineups, you can see how your guys are doing.

Sorry Android users, DK Live is only for IOS folks right now. That’s why I had to sneak my wife’s phone to test out the app yesterday.

So if you are fortunate enough to have a newer iPhone you need DK Live. It makes tracking all the DFS action easier in a cleaner design than just watching your “contests” view on a computer or the main DK mobile app.

Besides making for a cooler experience, there really is learning to be had with the DK Live app. Seeing each play and the impact of it on DraftKings’ scoring system can teach you more in a live view than pouring over the results after the contests end.

This is not another app that will waste your time and space on your phone. If you play NBA or NFL daily fantasy on DraftKings, you can improve your fantasy IQ in just one day of using it.

And from the looks of those I slaughtered Sunday, some of you need all the help you can get.

Shane Mclendon is our go to guy for everything NFL and UFC related. He covers pro and college football with as much zeal as his love for UFC. With Shane, we've got you covered...He call himself an NFL nut that enjoys UFC action and a daily fantasy sports expert....at losing.